Pretty Girl
by RyoushintekiAikou
Summary: It's her personal crusade to prove that love is dead. But love is a force that cannot be contained. Sasori x OC, Sasori x Deidara, Deidara x OC. Implied rape, romance, angst, and language. Better than my horrible summary sounds... Rating may change.
1. Prelude

**Prelude**

_**By RyoushintekiAikou**_

**A/N:** This is something I'm going to try. It's a prelude to a story that is soon to come. Hopefully you like it because I'm nervous about writing a prelude. I've never written one before but I think I've chose the right song…

**Warnings: **Blood, implied rape, graphic images, yaoi, yuri, and romance as well as angst and heavy language.

**Pairings:** OC x OC, Sasori x OC, Sasori x Deidara, Orochimaru x OC, and Deidara x OC.

**Copyright/Disclaimer:** I do not take copyright for Naruto, it belongs to its respective creators. I do take credit for my made-up character Izaki. The story is in no way associated with the recording artist or recording company. This is purely for my, and the reader's, amusement.

- - - - - - - - - -

_This is what I brought you, this you can keep_

_This is what I brought, you may forget me…_

A low hiss of the door to the seven year old girl's room split the night like a knife. The only thing was, the ebony-haired girl silhouetted against the night on her windowsill was the only one who heard it. With a kunai gripped in pale, slender fingers, the young kunoichi glanced around the darkness cautiously with amethyst adorned irises. The room felt colder than it had just moments ago, and even the crescent moon seemed to shine a little less.

"Who's there?" she called softly, thin lips set in a frown. A cold, merciless chuckle filled the room, sending shivers down the girl's spine.

"Your lord and master as of today, my dear, sweet Izaki Mukura," a snake-like hiss of a voice drawled through the darkness seductively. Swallowing hard, Izaki tried to keep her reactions under control. She knew that voice. It belonged to the man that'd slain her cousin right before her very eyes when she was only five years old…

_I promise to depart, just promise one thing…_

A snow-white hand wrapped around her trembling wrist, sending icy shockwaves through Izaki's entire body. Stifling a gasp, she tried to pull away from this person. Eyes appeared out of the darkness, golden yellow like a cat's against the black night. Oh yes. She knew who this was all too well…

_Kiss my eyes and lay me to sleep…_

"It's been a long time, dearest. The last time we saw each other was when…hmm… I do believe it was when I killed your cousin…Lanai, wasn't it? Yes. That was him. The reckless fool…" the voice continued nonchalantly. Izaki resisted the urge to struggle against this man. It would do her no good. She'd know this night would come since the day she was old enough to understand her parents didn't love her.

_This is what I brought you, this you can keep_

_This is what I brought, you may forget me…_

"You understand why I'm here, don't you?" The question required an answer. There was only one answer to this question, but Izaki refused to allow herself to give it. She was scared half to death already, but she still had her wits and refused to be goaded into saying what the man wanted. Turning her face away from those soul-piercing eyes, she tried to pretend he would go away if she didn't look at him. Moonlight bathed her face, illuminating her soft pale skin. Unknown to her, a cruel smirk spread across the snake-man's lips.

"Hn." There was no answer she was willing to give. Whatever she said otherwise that the man didn't want to hear would be considered a lie. But she didn't want to say it. Izaki didn't want to admit she knew what was supposed to happen that night.

"I'll answer my own question then, my darling Izaki…" the man drawled as his grip on her wrist tightened enough that she dropped the kunai out of sheer pain in her wrist. Subduing the urge to flinch away from him, Izaki kept her eyes trained on the tree outside. Cold fingertips brushed along her cheekbone. "I'm here because today you turned seven years old. Your cousin Lanai Mukura agreed that every seventh child in the Mukura clan would be mine to test my curse mark on." He let the words hang in the air.

"I know," Izaki replied stoically. Sharp canine teeth reflected moonlight dangerously.

_I promise you my heart, just promise to sing…_

Icy breath danced along the back of her neck, raising goosebumps. She shivered out of the entire unexpected turn of events. "Which means that you are mine," the man continued with an arrogant air to his words. "And mine alone." The words chilled Izaki to the bone. The way he said it…so sure of himself that Izaki would always be faithfully by his side… It wasn't true, though. She'd prove him wrong…

_Kiss my eyes and lay me to sleep…_

The rest was filled with darkness following those words. All she remembered really was screaming, blood, and heartless laughing ringing in her ears. It was later, as she woke up with a bloodcurdling shriek, that Izaki knew the night wasn't all darkness. It was true what had happened. Deny it as she tried, there was nothing to erase the hard truth from her mind. The screaming she heard in her mind was only her own and the blood belonged to her. Though Izaki never really thought she was alive, the blood proved that her heart was still beating.

_Kiss my eyes and lay me to sleep…_

It'd been a long road since that night. Seven years later and Izaki still couldn't erase the details from her mind. The night had been repeated several times in those seven years. Those who were supposed to love her never did. They turned their backs to her, ignoring her screams and cries in the middle of the night as the torment continued without any end in sight. He promised her a better world. He told her everything would be alright if she just took his hand.

_This is what I thought_

_I thought you need me…_

At first she thought he loved her. He told her she was beautiful. He showed her a world that offered solace to her when no one else would. Although she wanted to prove him wrong that she didn't belong to him, Izaki found herself growing more attached to him day by day. It was a cruel attraction that brought nothing but pain and grief upon her with every waking moment and nightmares before night broke. He said he'd never leave her. It was a promise she always thought he intended to keep to her.

Izaki needed him to survive in a world that proclaimed her to be worthless and horrific. He said he needed her to bring peace to the wretched world once more. It was all just lies in the end. He never meant what he said. She said what she meant. In the end it only brought pain.

_This is what I thought so think me naïve_

_I promise you a heart you'd promise to keep…_

"Stay, please…" she begged, tears running from her eyes as she lay battered and broken on the cold forest floor. A chill set in ever one of her bones, making her blood feel like ice in her veins. Izaki knew why he was walking away. He'd told her this was the last time. His last words still felt like lead bullets in her heart, poisoning her and killing her with every day that passed by.

His back was turned to her and she knew now he never meant anything he'd told her. She'd never mean anything to him. She was just another worthless lost cause, to be used and then thrown away once her purpose was fulfilled. Her only purpose in life, it felt, was just to be used and then tossed away recklessly. Screams threatened to pour out from her constricted throat. She couldn't seem to make a sound as his footsteps slowly faded into the darkness.

_Kiss my eyes and lay me to sleep…_

The sky was ablaze with the slowly setting sun, the trees standing proudly amongst the sea of flames. Her eyes traveled across the horizon, watching the colors bleed in and out of the sky. It was a sight she came to see almost every night. The only solace that she had was that something that ended always had to start again, just like the sun. It set, but it always came back again to bring a new day with it.

Her hands were folded on her lap as a heavy black curtain finally started to settle over the rolling hills dotted with pine trees swaying softly in the night breeze. Eyes half-closed, she let the caress of the wind take her mind far away.

_Kiss my eyes and lay me to sleep…_

It had been her promise to never love again after what he'd done to her. The one who dared to call himself her teacher, yet had only taught her that life was a meaningless thing. He'd showed her things she wished she'd never had to learn then. But it could never be taken back. The damage could not be undone. The scars would always be there to remind her that the past had really happened, deny it as she tried.

Pursing her lips and frowning into the darkness surrounding her like a blanket, Izaki released a soft sigh that almost extinguished the flickering candle across the room from her. Unbuttoning her Akatsuki cloak, she laid it on the end of her bed and stretched her arms high above her head. The faint light caught on dozens of scars on her arms and legs. They were all reminders that love did not exist to her.

_Kiss my eyes and lay me to sleep…_

She always did everything she could to avoid falling in love again. Izaki killed and betrayed just so she could never feel her heart break again. Her scars were the physical reminder of the times love had hurt her beyond all reason. Her heart was the emotional reminder of all the torment she'd been put through time after time just for the sake of love. It was her personal crusade to prove to herself and everyone around her that love was truly dead.


	2. Pretty Girl

**Pretty Girl**

_**By RyoushintekiAikou**_

**A/N:** This is going to be a seven(ish)-part series. Each chapter has its own song. I'm very excited for this and I hope that you like it…

**A/N #2:** I've had…a lot of personal problems lately. My mind just isn't working right and my heart just feels empty. I can't sleep and I can't rise. I just don't know what's wrong with me. I'm just losing my mind.

**Copyright/Disclaimer-thing:** I do take credit for Izaki Mukura and Nitsuki in this story as they are my made-up characters. Naruto belongs to its respective creators and no copyright infringement intended. The songs are simply used for the context of this _fictional_ story. The artist or recording company are in no way associated with this story. This is solely for my, and the reader's, amusement.

**The Songs (lyrics are italicized):** Prelude – Prelude 12/21 by AFI, Chapter 1 – Pretty Girl by Sugarcult. Undecided yet: I Caught Fire in Your Eyes by The Used, Crying by Sugarcult, Over and Over by Three Days Grace, Decode by Paramore, and Face Down by Red Jumpsuit Apparatus.

**Warnings:** Implied rape, romance, blood, shonen-ai, shoujo-ai, angst, and strong language, jokes that probably aren't funny, self-injury, and probably a few more things.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

_Pretty girl is suffering while he confesses everything  
Pretty soon she'll figure out what his intentions were all about…_

That day had snuffed the last flickering flame of hope she had. Even before that, one by one her hopes like candles had been put it so slowly. She only had one hope left before it was stolen from her in only a few minutes. The man with skin white like the snow that decorated the bare ground in the months of winter had told her she was beautiful. He'd promised her a world better than what she already had. He told her there were things he'd show her that no one else could. A whole new world just for her…

If only she knew the depth of his lies, then maybe…just maybe disaster could've been avoided. That night was the longest of all of the nights she'd endured before. Every night prior had been filled with dreamless sleep or the incapability to fall asleep at all, tormented by her lack of importance. It was on that specific day, the one where she turned seven years old, that she was raped by the man who'd made her all those promises.

He left her battered and broken, bleeding and naked with her eyes wide open shining with fear and anguish. That was how her parents found her. That was how they saw her for the rest of their lives; twisted beyond recognition.

_That's what you get for falling again  
You can never get 'em out of your head…_

That was at least nine years ago. Even now as the wind whipped through the forest, stirring the autumn leaves on the ground, causing them to dance in midair, it carried the memories on them. A scent clung to the air that'd never leave her again. The scars marring her body were a constant reminder of how much she'd struggled throughout her life.

The howl of the wind only grew louder, resonating off the thick bark of the towering pine trees within the forest depths. Reclining against the trunk of one of these trees was a girl of medium-height. An ebony curtain shadowed her face from view, leaving only slivers of soft pale skin visible. Amethyst adorned irises barely peeked out at the world surrounding her with an expression similar to disdain held within them. A long black cloak with red clouds buttoned up to her chin and falling to her ankles graced her lithe figure.

_It's the way  
That he makes you feel…_

"It's been a while, Izaki," a snake-like hiss of a voice cut through the still air, seemingly stopping all time. Slowly, the girl turned her head around to the source of the voice, only to find her worst nightmare standing five feet away. The tall man was dressed in a simple white shirt, a sleeveless pale yellow robe, and baggy black pants along with sandals. A purple belt rested neatly on his hips. Golden snake-like eyes trailed along her body, making her feel more uncomfortable then the cold already made her.

"Not long enough quite yet." Her voice was soft, but soothing like a small stream slipping over stones. Izaki Mukura folded her arms across her chest as if to protect herself from him.

"I thought you knew I could never stay away from you, my dearest black rose." Her breath caught in her throat as the world tilted for only a heartbeat. Her mind nearly left her as she stood there, nails digging into her forearms. No! She would not give in to her godforsaken emotions…

_It's the way  
That he kisses you…_

Memories were all that she could see when she looked into his eyes. She practically drowned in them every night when she tried to sleep, tossing and turning restlessly. Pursing her lips, Izaki tried to look away from those captivating eyes before they completely stole her breath away.

_His lips brushed softly against hers as he wrapped his lithe arms around her slender waist. His raven black hair fell like a curtain next to her face, enveloping her. It was moments like these, the more tender ones, that she truly believed he loved her and meant what he said…_

But all those good memories Izaki was trying to burn from her mind. They tormented her with the past she knew she would always regret, though she never would forget those moments. They drove iron hot stakes through her heart every single time.

_It's the way  
That he makes you fall in love…_

He stalked closer to her, like a predator hunting its prey. Startled, she took a step backwards into the dark forest, her eyes full of caution.

"What's this? Are you running from me?" he mocked her, noting her tensed muscles. "Or are you planning to?" Smiling charmingly, he continued, "Don't you love me any more?" The words drove straight through her, tearing at the seams of her crudely mended scars. Shaking her head a little to clear it, Izaki laid one hand gently on the tree next to her.

"I never, ever loved you, you sick bastard," she ground out between gritted teeth. His eyes narrowed to mere slits as his movements became quicker and unpredictable. Izaki turned and fled into the forest behind her, trying to run away and leave everything behind…

_She's beautiful as usual with bruises on her ego and  
Her killer instinct tells her to beware of evil men…_

The tree branches sliced through the tender skin of her cheeks as she practically danced through the forest. Her eyes wild with untamed fear she always tried to hide, Izaki constantly switched from being in the trees to galloping over the ground. She had no idea where he was, but her instincts told her he was closer than expected. Swallowing hard, and resisting the urge to look over her shoulder, Izaki forced herself to keep moving.

A cold chuckle filled the air around her. Closer…closer… She had to escape. She had to get out of this mental labyrinth that he'd managed to trap her in for years now. Whatever she did, it would never be enough for her to avoid the evil lurking around every corner of her life.

_That's what you get for falling again  
You can never get 'em out of your head_

_And that's what you get for falling again  
You can never get 'em out of your head…_

He was always inside of her mind, twisting her thoughts around and sending her mind into overdrive. It would never be enough to say that he'd raped her and left her in the cold, shattered into a million pieces. It would never be enough punishment from life after that. It sometimes felt like she was a walking time bomb, set to explode at any given moment as life continued to batter her to pieces. Even at that moment her head throbbed with the overload of emotions and memories.

The last tendrils of the sun were barely touching the sky as the burning orb slipped beneath the crest of the hill. Soon it would be night, and then he would be in his element. She couldn't stay out any longer without consequence. Heading in the general direction of the Akatsuki lair, Izaki assumed she was free until a soft breath of cold air kissed the back of her neck. Her shoulders instantly tensed as she fought the urge to turn around.

_It's the way  
That he makes you feel…_

Just ahead of her in the dim lighting she could see her goal. She extended her strides to cross more ground before he could catch her. Izaki ducked under a low hanging branch to land softly on the other side of the towering oak. Breathing heavily, Izaki glanced around nervously before lifting her shaking hands to perform a few complicated hand signs. A ring on one of her fingers started to glow softly like a beacon in the night to where she was.

There was an unsettling chill in the air that made Izaki deduce she was not entirely safe yet. The gaping entrance to the Akatsuki lair in front of her, she descended down the winding series of tunnels. The entrance shut behind her with a muted thump. Lanterns lined the walls, casting eerie light over her path as she hurried along; trying to shake the feeling someone was following her.

"You're never safe," she whispered to herself absentmindedly as she crossed her arms across her chest tightly.

_It's the way  
That he kisses you…_

Several pairs of eyes met hers momentarily before they dropped back down to whatever they'd been focused on previously. The other Akatsuki members were used to Izaki's strange behavior, especially at night. Without a word, the ebony-haired girl headed to the end of the hall and the last door on the left. Swinging it open, she slipped inside and closed it softly behind her.

Flickering candles clinging to their last threads of life were scattered around the room precariously while scrolls and books were stacked neatly against the walls. The two shelves lining the walls were filled with various trinkets with and without meaning. A work table was set in the far corner of the room with charcoal scattered across its surface and a stack of blank paper tucked neatly in the corner of it. The crescent moon shone from outside the small window set in the center of the wall directly in sight when someone would first enter the room. Opposite from the desk, on the other side of the room, was a neatly made bed with its footboard facing opposite to another bed's across from it.

Breathing heavily, Izaki staggered to the bed across from the desk and practically collapsed onto it. Her eyes were half-closed as she rested her chin in the palms of her hands while her elbows rested on her shaky knees. It almost reminded her of every time, even the softest of kisses, could bring her to her knees.

_It's the way  
That he makes you fall in love…_

It was something she would never admit. Every moment they spent together had been branded in her mind with the specific date and time. It was a burden to remember how every spring he would take her out to the cherry blossom grove as the light pink petals swirled around them in clouds, gently brushing against her cheeks and hands. He'd hold her hand as they'd stood in the midst of the natural wonder. She'd always lean against his shoulder for support because every single time she was rendered weak from the intensity of the moment and the raw beauty of the world around her.

Then there was the way he could always read her emotions and body language when no one else could. The world simply passed her off as troubled and mentally unstable. But he'd seen deep beneath that exterior into the person she was within. It'd been absolutely terrifying to finally find someone who could understand her for once and everything she'd been through in life. His eyes had been her stairway to heaven once upon a time. That was until Izaki learned him inside and out, just like he'd done to her. After that, things had never gone back to the stolen moments and secret, knowing glances.

_It's the way  
That he makes you feel…_

Izaki bit her bottom lip, gazing down at the floor beneath her feet. She was a mental wreck. Every single time his face entered her train of thought, all control was lost and her emotions flew sky high. It was the one thing she hated the most about him. It would always be. He'd made her believe in such thing as a better day for once, and then stolen it from her just like he'd stolen her innocence and her heart. Squeezing her eyes shut and trying to stop the murderous headache that now thundered through her mind, Izaki tried to control herself.

The door to her room opened. The only way she knew this was because the candles in her room flickered for a moment at the sudden rush of air before settling again. Izaki refused to look up. She already knew who was in her room.

"Sasori, with all due respect, get the fuck out of my room. I'm not willing to listen to another lecture about my mental stability," she snapped, gritting her teeth from the pain.

"You only wish it was your dear, dear puppet master, Izaki," a cold voice drawled.

_It's the way  
That he kisses you…_

Her head snapped up to meet the piercing golden eyes that haunted her day and night. One glance was enough to steal her breath away and stop her heart for just a moment. A cruel smirk curled onto his thin lips as he heard the change in his prey's heartbeat. Izaki let her arms settle across her lap, watching the snake-like man's every move with calculating eyes.

"What makes you say that?" she asked quietly with an edge to her voice.

"He only lectures you because he cares," he sneered back. Izaki shook her head, her hair curtaining her eyes, shadowing them from view.

"Sasori does not feel anything…just like me," Izaki retorted bitterly. The man crossed the room in quick strides, gripping her jaw with a fierce hold and forcing her to gaze into his eyes.

"Don't you _ever_ lie to me, Izaki Mukura!" he hissed, his voice rising with every word.

_It's the way  
__That he makes you fall in love__  
Love…_

_Pretty girl, pretty girl…_

His eyes seemed to hypnotize her as she sat there, frozen in shock and indignation. Her mind screamed at her to move, to fight, and to scream…anything to stop the landslide that was sure to happen. He kept his eyes on hers as, in almost slow-motion, he leaned down and captured her lips. Izaki felt her muscles tense, but her heart tried to defy her mind by willing her to relax. She refused to give into her emotions, but her arms refused to move. Something seemed to click in her mind at last, and she raised her arms quickly and shoved him away from her.

Her hand was on the doorknob by the time he recovered from the sudden turn in events. Izaki's eyes were uncertain and, though it was hardly visible, burned with a cold fire.

"No." The one word came out low and almost like a promise to herself.

_Pretty girl is suffering while he confesses everything  
Pretty soon she'll figure out  
You can never get 'em out of your head…_

"You will never be free, Izaki," he told her, his tone riddled with ice. Izaki met his eyes, for once all seven year old vulnerability showing through.

"I know," she answered calmly, sorrow slipping off of every word. "I know." Turning the knob, her eyes becoming emotionless once more, she swung it open and set one foot outside of the door. A frozen hand on her wrist stopped her from continuing.

"You will never love another, Izaki." The purple-eyed girl half-frowned, mulling over her answer to his statement whispered in her ear.

"I don't know. I never loved you in the first place."

"I told you not to lie."

"Well, then you should practice what you preach." Sliding out of his grip, Izaki stepped out into the hallway, breathing evenly for the first time that evening.

"I'll finish this one day."

"I'll kill you one day," was her soft-spoken reply filled with determination. She'd destroy him for everything he'd done to her. She'd end him for intervening with her life and making her feel things she'd wished she would never feel again.

_It's the way  
That he makes you cry…_

Once she was sure no one was looking her direction and he was gone, she slumped to the floor in the hallway with her legs curled to her chest, her arms folded across her chest, and her forehead resting against her knees. Izaki refused to cry. It had always been that way since she was little and realized the world would never stop trying to break her. Tears were useless, she deduced, and doing something useless is wasting time that could be used for better things. With her eyes shut tightly, she pushed down the urge to cry and settled for digging her nails into her upper arms. The pain pushed the tears away for the time being.

He'd been the only one who could always bring her emotions to the peak of breaking. He was the reason she cried herself to sleep some nights when she'd promised to never cry in front of anyone. How Izaki despised him with every part of her being… He'd always been the reason behind her tears after she'd first made her promise.

_It's the way  
That he's in your mind…_

It'd always felt like they were playing some sort of sick game of cat and mouse, and she was the mouse; always running. They were in a maze of thorn walls built up from years of lies and pain he'd caused her. Every turn she made, he was always right in front of her, waiting to catch her. One of these days, and this Izaki was sure of, he'd get tired of playing with her and finally just put her out of her misery. He thrived on her pain while she slowly withered away inside.

He'd never loved her and never cared about her. He'd manipulated her and was the reason she'd torn out her heart, vowed to stay away from love, and been crushed by her own desires. It seemed he was always one step ahead of her, playing her like she was his puppet on a lonely string getting ready for her final show before the curtain finally closed.

_It's the way  
That he makes you fall in love…_

Every single time, Izaki refused to admit to herself the reason why she'd always suffered so much because of him. She'd only let herself continuously get hurt and strangled till she couldn't breathe anymore and had to claw her way out from the very bottom of her self-built prison. It was all to deny the real reasons behind while she was always stitching herself back together time after time because of the wounds he inflicted on her.

Dragging herself upright, her whole body shaking, Izaki returned to her room and closed the door softly behind her with an expressionless face. With her shoulders hunched over, Izaki shuffled over to her bed and unbuttoned her cloak on the way their. Tossing it on the end of her bed, Izaki pulled back the covers of her bed and curled up under them.

_It's the way  
That he makes you feel…_

Several hours later, with the sun just barely peeking over the horizon and the stars still fleeing the sky, Izaki awoke with a start. Her pillow felt slightly wet. Lifting her head, a warm drop of liquid slid down her face and crashed onto her outstretched hand. Letting it fall from her hand, Izaki slowly reached up and touched her eyes. There were tears there. She'd been crying without even knowing it. A scream of frustration tore out of her throat as she hit her head against the wall behind her. She knew nobody would come running, wondering why she'd just screamed. They were far too used to her waking up in a rage.

"Why does this have to happen to me?" Izaki mumbled, cursing herself under her breath. It was so stupid how her whole life seemed to be trying to rebuild itself around the one thing that'd left her lifeless in the first place.

_It's the way  
That he kisses you…_

Gently running the tips of her fingers along her lips, Izaki briefly wondered how long ago it was since she'd last felt his kiss to be true. It'd been so long ago when she'd first met him and he'd told her he'd come to take her away. He promised her he'd be just like her guardian angel and protect her. Instead, he'd taken her and broken her down from the inside out with lies that festered until they finally grew into something that overtook her, ripping her apart piece by piece.

Sometimes she wondered what her life would've been like if he'd just never meddled with her future. Once, he'd even told her that their destinies would forever be intertwined. She'd simply smiled and nodded at the thought. He'd always been so good to her. Or so Izaki had thought until he'd made it clear she was nothing but a pawn to him.

_It's the way__  
That he makes you fall in love  
Love…_

Yet there was one thing she could not deny as she reclined against the wall, her breathing barely audible in the still morning. It'd always been something she hid and tried to bury under the reasons why it could never be possible. She'd always remembered how he hurt her instead of loved or cared for her. It was the only way Izaki had managed to forget her own feelings and how deep they'd once been. In the spring she'd secretly go to the cherry blossom grove on her own, just to feel the sweet serenade of the memories she could never have again.

Izaki Mukura had fallen in love with one of the three legendary sannin. She'd lost everything she had and more to the one person who she'd always been told would never love her; Orochimaru. He'd stolen her heart from the first moment he uttered a word of praise to her, and then on afterwards on and off loved her, but mostly manipulated her. A beautiful midnight rose once, but withered and rotting a moment later in time.

* * *

x____x Whoo! I did it. -collapses-

Review, please? I know it probably sucks, but I was really tired and I just wrote like crazy in the last stretch. :)  
And I'm also working for National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) so I'm switching between writing this and that.  
Reviews are most loved! Keep feedback constructive.  
~Ryou


	3. Face Down

**Face Down**

_**Written by RyoushintekiAikou**_

**A/N:** Here we go again with this series. This is part two… My friend on FF asked for this to be done by…Christmas… Such a pleasant story for Christmas, isn't it? Anyways, I hope she likes it…

**Copyright:** I only take copyright for my made-up character Izaki Mukura and my other character Nitsuki. Naruto belongs to its respective creators and I do not take any copyright for it. The song used has nothing to do with the recording company or recording artist. This story was simply written for my, and the reader's, amusement.

**Songs So Far (Song – Chapter):** Prelude 12/21 by AFI – Prelude, Pretty Girl by Sugarcult – Chapter One, Face Down by Red Jumpsuit Apparatus – Chapter Two.

**Warnings:** Implied rape, romance, blood, shonen-ai, shoujo-ai, angst, and strong language, jokes that probably aren't funny, self-injury, suicidal thoughts, and probably a few more things.

- - - - - -

_Hey girl you know you drive me crazy  
One look puts the rhythm in my hand…_

The sun was just beginning to peek over the curve of the rolling hills dotted with tall pine trees. Sunlight filtered through the dirty glass window and into the underground room of Izaki Mukura. A prone figure sitting upright, violet eyes wide open, jolted awake as the first beam of sunlight swept across her feet. Stretching her arms high above her head and stifling a yawn, Izaki rubbed her eyes momentarily before heaving herself out of bed. Muffled noises of dishes somewhere distantly were put into the back of her mind as she inventoried what was left of her body. Satisfied with her results that, indeed, she still had all her limbs and probably all her organs she needed to function, Izaki headed out of her room after snatching up her black with red clouds Akatsuki cloak.

Voices could be heard just down the hallway. Slants of light and flickering lanterns illuminated her way as she padded very slowly into the kitchen. Several of the Akatsuki members were already seated around the old wooden dining table or leaning against the chipped countertops. No one looked up as Izaki entered and poured herself a cup of tea, rubbing her eyes gently in between pouring the tea and lifting it to her thin lips. She swore she could feel eyes burning holes into her back so she whipped around only to glare into the empty mahogany eyes of the puppet master Sasori. Frowning, Izaki let her mind close to all the thoughts of others. It was too early to deal with anything.

_Still I'll never understand why you hang around  
I see what's going down…_

"Where were you last night, Izaki?" The cold voice cut through her peace of mind, causing her to bite her lip to hold back a stream of curses at the owner. Sasori was still staring at her through those damned emotionless eyes, but he had asked her a question. One she wasn't going to answer, obviously.

"Oh, you know, here and there." Her tone was light as she set her tea cup down in the sink and turned her back to Sasori to rinse it. By her body language, it was evident she didn't want to continue their conversation.

"I heard Orochimaru's voice in the Akatsuki lair, Izaki; I'm not as stupid as I look." Izaki slammed the cupboard door shut and whirled around to meet his steady gaze with cold fire in her eyes.

"Get the fuck out of my life. It shouldn't matter to you, anyways." With those words said and still hanging in the air, the ebony-haired kunoichi stormed out of the kitchen. Sasori's eyes followed her every step of the way, his expression unable to be deciphered.

_Cover up with make-up in the mirror  
Tell yourself it's never going to happen again…_

The russet-haired puppet master left the table just moments later, idly wandering down the hallway until he reached his quarters. His wooden fingers just barely scraped the cool surface of the brass doorknob when he heard a muffle voices just down the hall. Curiosity got the better of him as he slowly advanced toward the origin of the voices. He faintly recognized one to be that of Izaki and the other to possibly be the orange-haired resident of the Akatsuki, Nitsuki. Izaki's room was just a door down from his, so Sasori didn't have to travel far before he was standing just outside Izaki's half-cracked open door. Inside he could vaguely make out the two girls standing in the middle of her room, bathed in sunlight.

"Is it so hard to understand I care about you?" Nitsuki pleaded, the sun catching on a few stray tears slowly falling from her emerald adorned irises. Izaki's expression was calm as ever as she faced the distraught girl.

"Nitsuki…does it hurt that you care about someone who cares about no one but herself?" Izaki answered softly. The orange-haired teen sniffled and wiped her green eyes on the back of one slender hand.

"I know you don't believe that, Izaki. I know deep down inside you want to care, but you're just too scared to," Nitsuki attempted to reason with her, desperately searching for a reason for Izaki to change her mind. Neither of them seemed to be aware of the presence of Sasori just outside their door, even if he'd forgotten to mask his chakra. Izaki could've easily spotted him, but she was too reserved with the current situation at hand.

"Who said I was scared to love anyone?" Her tone was defensive, and she seemed to realize this for she quieted down to continue on with an almost thoughtful, "Your feelings should not be wasted on me. I'm not worth it."

_You cry alone and then he swears he loves you…_

"I…" Izaki held up a hand to silence the girl, her eyes firm and her body language clearly showing that their conversation was over. Nitsuki let her final words die on her lips in an instant, not wanting to anger the elder kunoichi anymore.

"You have my final answer. I'm mildly flattered, but no." Her eyes averted from Nitsuki and to the door where she seemed to freeze where she was standing. "…get out. BOTH OF YOU!" _Shit! Abort!_ Sasori quickly turned and walked briskly away into the safety of his shared room, leaning against the door heavily. Vaguely he heard Nitsuki's footsteps retreating unevenly down the hallway while Izaki's door closed softly behind her. Briefly he pondered over how Nitsuki could actually have feelings, and bear them freely, for someone as heartless as Izaki. Stepping over to the door once more cautiously, he cracked it open and slipped out into the hallway without a sound.

Sasori knew Izaki better than she thought he did. In the past, Orochimaru had done things to her that the puppet master knew Izaki wanted to forget all too well. It was after the trials he put her through that the ebony-haired teen had vowed to never love another. In her mind, love was dead and utterly pointless. Sasori had watched her turn down multiple people with just one killing glare from her icy violet eyes. After Orochimaru, Izaki had never wanted to bear her heart to another. Broken inside and thoroughly beaten on the outside, Izaki didn't want anyone to get close to her. It was a known fact to Sasori that Izaki had indeed loved Orochimaru. Although she'd never once let on in words she did, it was obvious by the way she acted when she spoke of the times when he'd first corrupted her that he'd had an immense effect on her.

Down the hallway, he gently pressed one wooden ear to her door, masking his chakra in the process. Normally, he'd just stay out of people's business and they left him alone as well. But this time…something about Izaki captivated him. She was so mysterious and dangerous at the same time. It was something that Sasori had never encountered in his studies of the human nature. Vaguely, from where he was, he could hear deep breathing on the other side of the rotting oak door. Listening even harder, he could barely hear soft sniffles.

"You're so weak…" Izaki's voice was muffled behind the door, but Sasori could hear it loud as ever. She was crying.

_Do you feel like a man  
When you push her around?_

Sasori leaned back from the door and stood in the hallway, mildly lost for words. Never in all the time had he known Izaki to ever show weakness. Not even pain could cripple her, whether emotional or physical she still remained strong. There was something about the way that he heard her crying that made him wonder if it'd always been like this, and everyone had failed to notice. She had such a good act going that no one ever dared to question her pretense. Biting his lip and retreating into his room, Sasori was left to ponder the reasons as to why she let herself fall apart so easily. The only person she depended on was herself. There was nothing in the world that could make her break down. At least, that was what he'd perceived of her up until that moment. Cold and unpredictable, she truly was something else.

Quietly he toiled away at one of his puppets, the sunlight slowly turning into sunset. His blond partner Deidara came and went periodically at the same times he usually did. None of it bothered Sasori as he worked. Loud explosions and foul cursing filling the lair couldn't even make him flinch. It was all a part of the daily life in the Akatsuki. The door that slammed open five minutes prior to yet another explosion was not normal. Irritably, he looked up with piercing eyes to glare into the lone blue eye of Deidara.

"What is it, brat? Can't you see I'm busy?" he snapped. The blond pursed his lips before speaking in a curt tone.

"It's Izaki, un…she's missing and the last anyone heard, Orochimaru was in her room," Deidara told him. Sasori set his screwdriver down and crossed his arms over his chest, wooden joints clicking in the process.

"So?" The explosives artist rolled his lone eye, the other replaced by a scope that allowed him to see farther than the natural human eye could.

"You're hopeless, yea. She's _missing_ and Leader-sama _ordered_ us to find her. Nitsuki is supposed to come along, un, since she knows Izaki relatively the best so far out of all of us, yea," Deidara spat, frustration starting to bleed into his voice. Slamming his screwdriver down into the table, the metal sinking past the wood with a screech, Sasori whipped around to fix the blond with a smoldering gaze.

"Why us?!" he spat, venom dripping from every word. "We don't even know Orochimaru like Itachi or Izaki does. There is absolutely no way to predict his actions." Deidara took a hesitant step back from the door.

"If we have Nitsuki, yea, then we can predict Izaki. If we can predict Izaki, un, then we can understand Orochimaru at least a little, yea," Deidara pointed out. "I'll wait outside, un. I'll wait five minutes, yea." With those words said, the blond turned on his heel and strode out of Sasori's line of view. How did he manage to do that? Piss the red-head off and yet fascinate him at the same time. It was so twisted and surreal, that it just wasn't possible.

_Do you feel better now as she falls to the ground?__  
Well I'll tell you my friend one day this world's going to end  
As your lies crumble down, a new life she has found…_

"You are still such an insolent _child_!" A resonating crack caused several birds to take flight from their perch in the trees, squawking indignantly. Izaki fell to the ground, a red hand impression just starting to be visible on her left cheek. The force of the blow hadn't been very strong, but the unexpectedness had brought her to her knees. From where she was she could feel cold, merciless golden snake-like eyes boring into her skull. "Get _up_." The emphasis on the last word caused an involuntary shudder to race down her spin, her pupils dilating for only a moment before she managed to control her emotions. Planting her palms firmly into the earth below her, she crouched for a moment before standing swiftly, her violet eyes vacant of any feeling. Before her stood a tall male with skin like the snow that fell during the coldest months of the year, and his lips were twisted in a malicious smile.

"As I said, _Orochimaru_, I have no idea what you're talking about," Izaki spat, bracing herself for the pain that was inevitable. Almost instantly, there was a stinging pain at her neck, just about where her jugular was. She didn't have to look down to know that her former sensei now held a kunai at her throat. "Oh, so you're going to kill me now?" Her tone was mocking, almost challenging him to follow through with his current actions. The pressure increased and Izaki had to fight the urge to flinch. So many times before had there been a bloodthirsty enemy at her throat, threatening her life, and each time she'd unflinchingly disposed of the threat. Her body was screaming for her to do something, to move, to fight… Anything to keep the monster that stood in front of her now from taking her life. She would not grant him the satisfaction of killing her because she couldn't control her emotions.

"You have every notion of what I'm talking about, Izaki, so stop _lying_ to me and tell me the truth!" His tone dripped undisguised hatred as he held the weapon tightly to her throat. "We both know the truth about the matter…"

"Nitsuki cares for me not. I am unable to comprehend what you would like me to say when there is nothing left to be said," Izaki bit out between clenched teeth. A warm trickle of liquid slid down her slender throat which was exposed because her cloak had been left behind at the Akatsuki base in her flight.

_A pebble in the water makes a ripple effect  
Every action in this world will bear a consequence…_

"Stop _lying to me_, you ungrateful BRAT!" Icy hands were at her throat now, thumbs pressing down on her airway, restricting any breathing. Finding her strength, Izaki reached up and grabbed his wrists, her stoic expression threatening to crack under the pressure. Her attempts were in vain as her sudden strength left her and her consciousness started to fade. _No, no, no_…she thought desperately, trying to claw at the darkness fogging her mind. How had this happened? Why had this happened? She was an A-rank ninja who had been trained by the best… This wasn't happening to her. Where was her control? Her mind was spiraling down slowly as her eyes rolled back in her head, system shutting down quickly.

"Katsu!" The explosion was blinding as it swept over the clearing that the pair were in. The pressure from her throat lifted and Izaki slumped to the ground, dazed and half-unconscious. In her muddled mind she could hear footsteps rushing towards her, but they meant nothing. A white light was barely visible through the corner of her right eye, but it grew larger as it approached her. It dawned on her in a heartbeat what was happening.

"_NO!_" Her mind was pulled out of the fog in an instant, her eyes snapping open as she sat bolt upright. Breathing hard and feeling strong hands on her shoulders helping to steady her, Izaki gazed into the lone blue eye of the blond bomber.

"Izaki, un?" His voice was quiet as he attempted to bring her back into reality.

"I'm alright…I'm alright…" she whispered hoarsely, massaging her throat where there was sure to be a nasty bruise the next day. "Let's get the hell out of here, though." Deidara searched her eyes for any sort of hint as to what had happened prior to his arrival, but nodded absently nonetheless.

"Alright, yea, can you stand?" Izaki blinked slowly, realizing for the first time that she was kneeling on the ground. Bracing herself against a nearby tree, the black-haired girl carefully maneuvered herself upright under Deidara's watchful eye.

"Good, un, then let's go."

"Brat, where are you?" Sasori's impatient voice caused Izaki to briefly roll her eyes before disappearing to follow the sound to their escape. Deidara's scope swept the smoke and settling debris for any sign of Orochimaru before he headed after Izaki.

_If you wade around forever you will surely drown  
I see what's going down…_

The trip back to base was a blur in Izaki's mind. Soon enough she was sitting alone on her bed in her room, eyes closed and a headache just vaguely starting. Her throat felt dry and sore while her body felt entirely numb aside from that. Questions swirled around her mind, prompting her to examine her feelings and life since Orochimaru. There were no easy answers to be found, and her frustration grew. In the distance she could hear soft voices while in her mind she could hear a strong current of thoughts. Shutting them out, Izaki turned and glared uselessly at the ceiling.

"_Damn it all_!" She slammed her fist into the wall nearest to her, the sound of bone breaking and the scent of blood filling the air around her. Satisfied and her mind somewhat clear, Izaki examined the damage with a critical eye. A closer examination revealed that most of her fingers appeared to be broken while her knuckles were cracked and bleeding. Counting backwards from fifteen in her mind, Izaki let her thoughts depart in that time.

"What happened, Izaki?" Damn. She hadn't even heard the door open. Opening one eye, she was met with the sight of a distressed Nitsuki in her doorway, her eyes filled with worry. Pursing her lips together, Izaki debated how to rationally answer such a stupid question. Although most of the Akatsuki was used to her self-destructive behavior, Nitsuki never really understood it.

"It's nothing." She sat cross-legged on her bed with her damaged right hand resting on her knee. The orange-haired teen bit her lip before stepping completely inside Izaki's room and shutting the door quietly behind herself.

"That doesn't look like nothing." Izaki's shoulders tensed as Nitsuki slowly made her way across the room towards her, almost like she was approaching a wild animal. Her eyes narrowed as Nitsuki finally stood in front of her unafraid.

"Are you afraid?"

"No." Her answer was strong and certain. Closing her eyes, Izaki breathed in deeply.

"You should be."

_I see the way you go and say you're right again__  
Say you're right again  
Heed my lecture…_

"Why do you want me to be so afraid of you, Izaki?" Nitsuki inquired tentatively as she slowly slid onto the bed next to the elder teen. Biting her bottom lip, Izaki avoided her eyes as she focused on the window nearby instead.

"Nitsuki, why do you always come back to me in the end?" The orange-haired girl opened her mouth to respond, but quickly closed it again. Even if she pointed out answering her question with yet another question was not an answer, she was surely dead. Leaning back a little so she could study the side view she had of Izaki's stoic expression, Nitsuki folded her arms across her chest and breathed out slowly.

"You know why." Let her eyelids fall over her eyes, Izaki smiled briefly.

"Why don't you tell me again."

"I'm in love with you, Izaki, it's as simple as that," Nitsuki finally sighed, unable to comprehend what else Izaki would want to hear from her.

"That's not possible."

"Why isn't it, Izaki? Why are you so hurt?" _If only you knew…_ Izaki let the thought turn over in her mind for a moment before she settled into a deep silence, completely ignoring Nitsuki while submerged in the only place she would ever feel relatively safe. It was too much. Nobody could love her in the state of disarray she was in. So…why… There was nothing to love about her at all. She was scarred both inside and out, damaged beyond help and self-destructive. There was no humanly possible way that Nitsuki felt the slightest notion towards love for her.

_Do you feel like a man  
When you push her around?_

"Just…go away," Izaki mumbled, frustration just barely starting to bleed into her words. She knew the girl wouldn't leave, though. Every waking moment she'd be right there to sit and watch her with those pensive eyes that looked right through her almost. It was unnerving how every single time Nitsuki was the only one who could relatively understand her life and the emotions she'd denied time and time again. But Izaki refused to put herself through the pain of actually caring for anyone again. No one deserved to share in her pain or feel what Izaki was forced to feel every day. Even now as she sat trying to ignore the rest of the world by placing herself in her somewhat-sanctuary, Izaki knew she wasn't safe and the pain was still lurking in the darkest recesses of her mind.

"You can't ignore the rest of the world just because you were hurt in the past. What's done is done, and you can't change that. I can understand you don't want it to ever happen again, but this isn't the way," Nitsuki commented softly, carefully gauging Izaki's reaction. She had a vague idea that her words were enough to send Izaki over the edge, but she needed to hear them nonetheless.

"If that is truly what you believe, then you know absolutely nothing." Izaki released a long sigh before standing abruptly. "You'll never know this world. You've never known this world." She started to pace at an alarming rate, her eyes remaining focused on the walls. "This world—" Izaki inclined her head to the window to her right as she started her circles again. "—is infested by the greedy, foolish, reckless, and corrupt." Pausing for a moment to clasp her hands behind her back, Izaki continued on in a soft tone, "I have known all four types of people in this world. Unfortunately there is no hope for this world, really, though a steady peak of hope may be seen occasionally by some fool who believes they can change the world. What they cannot change, though…what no one can change is the way I was brought up both by and around these types of people." She laughed low in her throat, almost frustrated with her own words. "You, though…you have never known these types of people. I can see that in you. This means you do not understand the world like I do. You don't look at this godforsaken world the way I do. Otherwise you'd stand some sort of chance against the heaping pile of _shit_ this world will constantly throw at you. Soon enough your time will come and you will not know what to do. I will not help you. I can only say I told you so or something to that effect." She now stood facing the window, her eyes almost lost. "Why? Well, isn't it simple enough to see…? I don't care for anyone but myself because this world is so corrupted. You are too innocent for this type of environment. We will never understand each other. We can never make each other happy because of how different we see this world."

_Do you feel better now as she falls to the ground?  
Well I'll tell you my friend one day this world is going to end  
As your lies crumble down a new life she has found…_

The stars were barely beginning to twinkle on the black canvas stretched across the skyline. A slender iridescent crescent moon barely hung in the sky as the blue slowly bled out. The lack of light made Sasori's work much harder then necessary since as of nightfall he was forced to work by the barely flickering candlelight Rubbing his eyes with free hand, the red-haired puppet master released a long, irritated sigh that could only be generated from endless nights of work. Raising the screwdriver in his left hand to the light, the other hand holding a delicate puppet bird with one wing missing, he was just about to finish his creation when a soft knock at the door interrupted his work. Almost dropping the miniature creation and cursing under his breath in the process, Sasori set the bird down carefully but slammed the screwdriver back onto his work table. Striding across the room swiftly, he yanked open the door only to see Nitsuki standing there, looking mildly disturbed and a bit nervous. Raising an eyebrow at the sudden arrival of one of the most unlikely people to ever disturb him, Sasori leaned against the door and glared at her.

"What do you want?" The question was abrupt and fired out like a bullet from a gun. Nitsuki nearly jumped a foot in the air, seemingly just realizing that the person she'd come to see now stood right in front of her. Wringing her hands in front of herself, Nitsuki bit her lower lip as if searching for the words that seemed to have escaped her.

"Why does it seem every time I get a step closer to Izaki, she retreats and acts similarly to you?" Nitsuki inquired almost wistfully. "People are greedy, foolish, reckless, and corrupt… You said that once, didn't you?" Sasori was inwardly taken aback at her words, but his expression remained annoyed with the girl standing in front of him.

"If that's all you had to say, I'd rather get back to what actually matters," Sasori spat, already beginning to close the door without waiting for a response.

"Why does she hate so much?" Sasori slammed the door in her face without even giving an answer, storming back to his work space instead. Even when he sat there trying to work, he couldn't shake what Nitsuki had told him. For the second time that night, he set down his screwdriver and closed his eyes, rubbing his eyelids in annoyance. Why should it matter that Izaki had picked up on things he said while they lived relatively under the same roof? It didn't, he told himself over and over. Breathing in sharply, Sasori stood and snatched his Akatsuki cloak off the nearby bed and slipped it on as he headed for the door. He needed air. It was too constricting inside for his own good. Scowling deeply, and probably causing a few Akatsuki members to look up briefly in momentary curiosity before returning back to their tasks, Sasori left the hideout.

Outside he breathed in the crisp night air that seemed to energize his body all over again and chase the thoughts from his mind. The world truly was a wonder once you stopped and looked around. Sasori eyed the shadowed trees; their tips barely illuminated by the slender moon, and gazed at the clouds idly sidling across the sky lazily. It never hurt anyone to take a moment to enjoy life for maybe just once. Sasori closed his eyes once more and savored the silence around him, enjoying the space he had away from the rest of the world.

_Face down in the dirt__  
She says this doesn't hurt  
She says I've finally had enough…_

"Fuck you!" The hushed voice was like a siren through the still night. Turning in the general direction of the voice, Sasori raised an eyebrow at the crude language. From those two words, he figured it could be any of the Akatsuki members, though probably most likely to be Hidan, the silver-haired Jashinist, or Izaki. By the way they were talking there was clearly someone who had put them in the wrong mood. Masking his chakra and stepping lightly, Sasori drew a kunai as he went to investigate the voice he'd just heard. Edging closer to where he sensed a faint hint of strong chakra levels, he submerged himself in the bushes surrounding the clearing he came up. Adjusting to the darkness, he managed to make out a slightly petite figure and a tall male by the strong jaw line. Looking closely, he determined it was Izaki and Orochimaru by the way the moonlight reflected off of the snake sannin's pure white skin and Izaki's bright violet orbs.

"My, my… Language, my dearest, have I taught you nothing but to respect your elders?" Orochimaru taunted her with a devilish smirk. Izaki's eyes flashed as she slowly started to walk away from the man.

"I've had enough of you and your shit." The way she spoke the words, Sasori could hear the finality and bitterness in her voice. She'd really had enough by this point. Momentary reflecting back on the fragments of what Izaki had told him about her life briefly, he recalled multiple things somewhat relevant to the current situation. All of it summed up to how Izaki was sick and tired of all the suffering she'd unintentionally gone through because of Orochimaru.

"I thought I just told you to watch your language, Izaki Mukura," Orochimaru hissed through clenched teeth gleaming in the faint light. The teenager across from him snorted in laughter, her lips curling away from her teeth in a distasteful sneer.

"Fuck that, I'll say what I want. You're not in control of my life and you never were."

_Face down in the dirt  
She says this doesn't hurt  
She says I've finally enough…_

"I will not be spoken to that way by a…a child!" Orochimaru shrieked, raising his hand as if to strike her. Izaki saw it beforehand, managing to dodge the strike. With one last seething glare, Izaki took off into the forest, thankfully directly opposite from where Sasori was crouched. The snake sannin almost made a move as if to go after her, but instead settled for quietly seething in the center of the field, his golden eyes flashing. Closing his eyes, he folded his hands behind his back, his expression almost unreadable. "I know you're there, Akasuna no Sasori." The red-head inwardly wondered how, but instead settled for the simple explanation that Orochimaru had sensed his presence even miles away. Standing and brushing the leaves off his cloak, weapon clearly visible, Sasori eyed the man suspiciously.

"Well…?" The white-skinned man smirked to himself as he stood in the center of the clearing.

"I am amazed. You must tell me how it is possible someday."

"I do not know what you are talking about, you bastard," Sasori retorted. Orochimaru cracked one eye open and let it rest on him almost eerily.

"You must tell me how it is possible _I_ treat her like shit and she retaliates, yet every single time you push her around, she takes it quietly," Orochimaru replied in a soft tone. Sasori instantly held the kunai at eye-height as a warning.

"You've pushed her around since she was, what…seven?" he sneered. "It took her long enough to show some form of rebellion towards a worthless piece of shit like you." Orochimaru chuckled darkly, his eyes now fully fixed on Sasori.

"You'll never understand why it took her so long to retaliate back at me," he laughed almost manically.

"I already do." Sasori took a step backwards, not in the mood to fight in his current form outside of his beloved puppet. "Until next time." He turned and flitted away before the man could have the next word, though his laughter followed him incessantly.

_One day she will tell you that she has had enough  
It's coming 'round again…_

"Where's Izaki?" The quiet voice drew him back from his work for the second time that day. Lifting his head from his desk, Sasori glared at the speaker through his unruly hair that was currently blocking his vision. By what he could make out, the person who dared to interrupt him was a tall female with green eyes; Nitsuki.

"I have absolutely no idea."

"I need to know." A resonating crack filled the air as Sasori drove the screwdriver he'd previously been holding deep into the wood of his desk, eyes flashing dangerously.

"Well, brat, I told you _I don't know_!" Spinning around fully in his stool, maintaining his composure and balance without even flinching, Sasori fixed her with a cold stare. "So why the fuck bother me when it's obvious I don't know? Why continue to bother me when I _fucking_ don't _know_!" Nitsuki's eyes widened as she quickly retreated from his doorway, shutting the door behind her with a loud bang. Breathing heavily, Sasori tried to block the anger out of his mind, but it was hard not to. Why had he gotten so worked up over absolutely nothing? Gritting his teeth, and inwardly declaring he had officially lost his mind, Sasori stalked across the room to the door and put his hand on the doorknob. It was easier just to walk away from the situation and let it burn itself out instead of chasing after reasons that probably didn't even exist.

The problem was, he couldn't shake what Orochimaru said. No matter how hard he tried or told himself the man was surely out of his mind, the words refused to leave him. Izaki had been treated cruelly by him time and time again. She was trained to retaliate when in a state of emotional distress and never let anyone bring her down since her childhood terror. But Sasori constantly pushed her around and she never uttered a word. What Orochimaru did to her should make her well aware that the situation wasn't going to get better. Who ever claimed that he pushed her around on purpose, though? All he did was push her to her mental limits until she fell off the edge and lost her temper. Sasori never viewed it to mean anything. Why give meaning to something that obviously had no further significance to it?

_Do you feel like a man, when you push her around?  
Do you feel better now as she falls to the ground?_

The sound of glass breaking is what woke Sasori up that very evening several hours after his brief argument with Nitsuki. Raising his head from where it lay on his desk and rubbing his eyes, the puppet master stood and stretched his arms high above his head, his joints clicking. Picking up hits Akatsuki cloak from where it lay discarded nearby, he headed to the door. Carefully drawing a kunai and masking his chakra, the red-head edged towards the source of the sound at the end of the hallway. The only room there, though, was Izaki's room. There was no reason towards why glass would be breaking in her room unless she was attempting some new technique of self-injuring herself or in a struggle with someone and fell. Peeking through the crack in the door, his eye swept the room, taking in the sight of a shattered glass on the floor and blood drops scattered around on the ground.

"You bastard!" Izaki screeched in a hushed tone from behind the door. Vaguely he could make out that she was standing nearby a precarious stack of scrolls by her bed. It didn't take a genius to figure out the cause of her discomfort. Turning, Sasori came face-to-face with Deidara who was equally as curious as to what the matter at hand was. The bomber raised an eyebrow before gesturing to the door.

"We should help her, un," he whispered, doing his best to keep his voice as low as possible. Sasori nodded absently, briefly distracted by the interesting shade of blue of his partner's eye. Turning back to the scene at hand, he wasn't surprised to discover Orochimaru attempting to both seduce and kill Izaki at the same time.

_Well I'll tell you my friend, one day this world's going to end  
As your lies crumble down, a new life she has found…_

"Wait, Deidara." Listening in closely to what Izaki was saying, Sasori blocked out all other noise and concentrated in.

"What really happened to Lanai?" Izaki demanded, her tone somewhat distressed as she slowly paced around the half of the room that wasn't occupied by Orochimaru. The snake sannin raised an eyebrow at her before releasing a long hiss.

"As I told you when you were younger, Izaki…"

"No. You said differently when I got older. You told me _you_ killed him." Her voice cracked in several places, a rare display of emotion from the teenager. "So why are you trying to cover up now after you blatantly told me that you murdered him?"

"Why so concerned about someone who sold your life to me?" Izaki smiled vaguely from where she was, her arms crossed over her chest, one of her wrists obviously bleeding. It wasn't obvious whether it was self-inflicted or had happened when the glass broke.

"He didn't sell my soul. That's why I'm concerned."

"You don't have a soul."

"That means that you don't have one either." Orochimaru strode over to her before she could react, gripping her shoulders in a vice-like hold. Momentarily, Izaki attempted to struggle against him when his grip visibly tightened and she froze. "Cutting other people up and raising them on lies doesn't give you a soul."

"Shut up! You have no right talking to me like that, you impudent bitch!" Releasing her, he turned away from her, expression clearly twisted in fury. Turning on his heel abruptly, he brought the back of his hand down with a sharp crack on her cheek, sending her sprawling to the ground.

_Do you feel like a man, when you push her around?  
Do you feel better now as she falls to the ground?_

"Does it really give you any sense of feeling when you do this?" Izaki asked in a deadly voice from where she was on the ground, her eyes shadowed by her hair hanging into her eyes. "All you have is brute force. You know nothing about me to make my life any worse than just physical abuse." Orochimaru towered above her, his eyes darkened with pure rage.

"You have no idea how much of a living hell I'll make your life after this." He gripped her chin with slender fingers, forcing her to look at him through emotionless eyes. "You. Are. Mine." Her hands balled into fists as she twisted her body as if to strike him if she could. "You will never be free. You can never walk away from me."

"I fucking hate you so much." The words spilled out of her mouth, each drenched in pure hatred fueled by years of torment. Orochimaru smiled almost hypnotically as he let his hand fall away, slowly backing away from the girl laughing softly under his breath.

"Of course you do, Izaki. That's what you've always done; hated me, that is." The dark-haired girl quickly stood once he was out of range to hurt her. "You'll always say that you hate me more than anything." He continued to smile that same damned smile. "But I know the truth, Izaki… As much as you hate me, you hate yourself the most for _letting me_ do this to your life and never really taking a stand. It's far too late to take a stand, my dear. You're too far in to get yourself out." Izaki swayed uncertainly as if she was about to either faint or erupt in a fit of wrath. "You don't think anyone sees you, but I do. I know you better than anyone else. And I know for a fact that you, Izaki Mukura, have sold yourself to me; body and soul." His eyes sparkled with malice as he continued in a mocking tone. "You've never admitted it. You never will. Your pride and hatred of yourself are both too strong."

"If that is what you believe, then you know nothing about me at all," Izaki defended herself, her voice giving away her true feelings of defeat against her will.

_Well I'll tell you my friend one day this world's going to end  
As your lies crumble down a new life she has…_

"Katsu!" Izaki ducked out of the way as the miniature explosion occurred directly beneath Orochimaru who simply cackled before vanishing, the smoke steadily growing. Coughing violently, Izaki curled up in a fetal position where she was, just willing herself to die. There were some words that would always cut deeper than the surface, and he'd said every single one of those words. If Deidara had heard what he'd told her, then surely she deserved to die. Closing her eyes and breathing in deeply, Izaki let the darkness slowly consume her as the numbness spread from her feet into her chest and finally into her head. It felt so good to finally find the one true high she both desired and deserved. Footsteps were a vague memory in the back of her mind as her consciousness bled away from her. A curtain of shadows slowly drew across her vision, ending her final performance.

In the back of her mind she was dimly aware of two figures, both male, attempting to revive her as her life slowly drained away. There was an irony taste in her mouth, probably from blood that had been coughed up. It didn't matter, though. If she was truly dead, then it would never matter what state she'd died in. Obviously, she'd never remember it. Izaki let the fog take her mind far away, never caring about the consequence of her wishes. It didn't scare her; dying, that is. She'd waited for far too long for her final release.

_Face down in the dirt  
She says this doesn't hurt  
She says I've finally had enough…_

"Wake up, Izaki." The voice practically commanded her to rise as she slowly cracked open one eye, only to be greeted with the sight of an irate puppet master standing over her, his arms crossed. "Kami, you've been out forever." He slumped against the nearest wall that Izaki recognized to be part of her room. "Leader-sama wondered when you'd be awake enough to go on another mission. Guess I'll tell him soon enough." Izaki closed her eyes and frowned briefly.

"I'm not dead?" A deep sigh answered her question.

"No, numbskull, you're not dead. But you were very close to dying. I told Deidara to not use the bomb, but he said it was urgent that we helped you. It looks like he almost killed you instead. When you feel well enough, get up and clean up since you've been out for three days," Sasori continued in a bored tone. "I'm not your babysitter."

"I hate you too," Izaki snapped, flinging the blanket off of herself and sitting upright. The world swam before coming back into focus. Rubbing her eyes, even in the darkest part of her memory, she could see Orochimaru's face leering out at her. It wasn't over. It'd never be over. But while there was still breath in her lungs and blood in her veins, she'd fight him till the day she died to be free once and for all.

**A/N:** Kill me now. -falls down dead-

Hallelujah! Sorry for errors. I was rushed. -grumbles- Will maybe edit later.

~Ryou


End file.
